USC drops Pac-10 series with Beavers

A ninth-inning USC comeback came up short when junior Joe De Pinto struck out with the bases loaded, and the Trojans lost the rubber game of a three-game Pac-10 series against the Oregon State Beavers, 4-3.

In his first start of the season, the No. 21 Beavers’ Sam Gaviglio earned the victory, pitching five and one-third innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out four. Kraig Sitton, who struck out De Pinto to end the game, earned his second save of the season.

USC (14-14, 2-4) sophomore ace Andrew Triggs took the loss. He went seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits with six  strikeouts.

The Beavers (18-6, 2-1) jumped on the board quickly in the first inning on a rare two-run inside the park home run. After Adalberto Santos led off the game with a bunt single, Michael Miller hit a line drive toward the left field wall that got lost in the tarp. The umpires ruled that the ball was still in play, despite Trojan sophomore left fielder Matt Foat throwing his hands in the air to signify a ground-rule double. Miller continued to race around the bases until he touched home plate, giving Oregon State the early 2-0 advantage.

The Beavers tacked on another run in the frame on Carter Bell’s RBI groundout, giving OSU a 3-0 lead before USC came to bat. Triggs settled down, however, and shut down OSU for the rest of his outing.

USC began its attempt at a comeback in the bottom of the second inning, when senior Keith Castillo and sophomore Alex Sherrod, who both collected two hits on the afternoon, led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Senior Mike O’Neill drove in a run on an RBI groundout, and Sherrod scored later in the inning on a Gaviglio wild pitch, cutting the deficit to one.

The Trojans threatened again in the seventh inning, loading the bases with two outs, but sophomore Kevin Roundtree hit a hard groundout to first to end the rally.

After the Beavers added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, USC loaded the bases again in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore pinch hitter Garrett Houts worked a two-out walk to make the score 4-3, but Sitton struck out De Pinto on a 1-2 pitch to end the game and the series for the Trojans.

USC’s lone victory of the series was Friday’s 8-2 win. USC sophomore Ben Mount pitched six innings, allowing two runs, four hits and racking up seven strikeouts. OSU’s Tanner Robles took the loss for the Beavers, pitching four and one-third innings in front of a shaky defense that committed six errors.

After OSU cut the lead to 4-2 in the top half of the seventh, the Trojans responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game out of reach. USC sophomore first baseman Ricky Oropesa, who drove in four runs in the contest, hit his Pac-10-leading ninth homerun of the season in the frame.

Saturday’s defeat marked the second straight Pac-10 series the Trojans have lost this season. With the victory, OSU won its first series at Dedeaux Field since 2004.

The Trojans host Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday at       6:30 p.m. before continuing conference play against California next weekend.